At this time of year, our birds are decked out in their brightest, showiest colours, getting ready for the spring parties. These were hanging out at the Campbell River estuary.
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| Mallards resplendent in green, purple, turquoise and chestnut, busily grooming. Gotta look good! |
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| Quieter tones; female wigeons. The male shows off with a bright green stripe down the side of his face. |
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| Mallards pair off in the fall. |
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| A couple of female mallards, hiding their blue/turquoise speculums. |
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| Goldeneye in the distance. I like the stripy water. |
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| Red-breasted merganser, with her spiked hairdo. Her mate will have a dark green head and red eyes. Both their bills are orangey red; here, the colour is too dark to be seen against the light. |
Up in the parking lot, the
pigeons were hanging out, the males strutting, puffing out their chests: "Look at me! Me! I'm coo-coo-cool!"
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| Iridescent purple and green scarf, grey wings. |
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| No two pigeons are alike. This one has an interesting wing pattern. |
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| Suddenly, the whole flock takes off at once with a rustle and clap of wings, flies around and around swiftly, then peacefully settles a few metres away from the starting point. |
I can identify with the Merganser.Especially first thing...
ReplyDeleteMe, too!
DeleteI saw a female and two male Common Mergansers near the cabin last week. I think they stick around throughout the winter because I see them off and on, especially females and immature males (all with the brown heads). - Margy
ReplyDelete